


Know Thyself

by lit103



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 15:26:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3697373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lit103/pseuds/lit103
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don’t know how to tell you this—I don’t even know if I <i>should</i> be telling you—but I have to tell someone...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Know Thyself

Bolin,

I don’t know how to tell you this—I don’t even know if I _should_ be telling you—but I can’t keep this to myself. I have to tell someone. I know why Kuvira beat Korra today. And it’s not for the reason you think.

I guess I should start from the beginning.

When I saw Korra heading toward Kuvira’s camp last night, alone, I had a pretty good idea what she intended to do: work things with out with Kuvira one on one before it came to all-out war. I know Kuvira, though—I’ve known her all my life—and I don’t trust her one bit. She fights dirty, always has, and I didn’t like the way she looked at Korra the last time she saw her. She had this wily little smile on her face, like she knew something the rest of us didn’t. 

I know that smile. Nothing good has ever come of it. So when I saw Korra heading toward Kuvira’s camp, I followed. I’m not stupid; I didn’t think I could protect her by myself, but I could at least go for backup if Kuvira tried to take her hostage or something. And yes, okay, I might have been planning to find out where Kuvira was keeping my family and rescue them while she was distracted. Wouldn’t you have done the same? But I guess I don’t know _what_ you would or wouldn’t do anymore, do I... 

Anyway, Korra went into Kuvira’s tent and, moments later, Kuvira sent her guards away. That wasn’t a good sign—like whatever she planned on doing to Korra was so bad she didn’t want witnesses—but it did make it easy for me to sneak up to an opening in the side of the tent.

Korra and Kuvira were standing a few feet apart. Korra was tense, fists clenched, but Kuvira was completely at ease. She wasn’t wearing armor—just sleeping clothes and a metal cuff on each wrist—but she didn’t fool me for a minute. Kuvira’s as dangerous out of armor as she is in it, just in a different way.

“If you won’t release Suyin and her family, at least fight me one on one,” Korra was saying. “That way no one else has to get hurt. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, Kuvira—not even you. I just want you to leave Zaofu alone.”

Kuvira laughed low. “Is that what you want? You see, Korra, I don’t think it is. I think you don’t know _what_ you want, and that’s because you don’t know yourself. How can you expect me to negotiate with someone like that?” She stepped closer. “I know you, Korra,” she said, lowering her voice still further; I had to strain to hear what she said next. “I know what you want.” She took another step closer. “But I won’t ask you to take my word for it. Tell me,” she asked, lips curving in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “How was it with Mako?” 

Korra blinked. “With Mako?” Whatever she’d been expecting Kuvira to say, that definitely wasn’t it. “W—what are you talking about?”

Kuvira laughed. “Don’t play coy with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about. And you don’t need to tell me—I know. You didn’t know who you wanted, but you wanted _someone_ , wanted them so badly you thought you might die of it—and Mako was there, wanting you, so you took him. Mako was... fine. Took the edge off, for a while, but he didn’t make the wanting go away. How could he? It wasn’t him you wanted, not really, and he knew it. It’s not _you_ , you said, and you thought you were telling the truth. You were, in a way. It wasn’t whohe was, but _what_ he was. You just didn’t know it. But _I_ know it, Korra. I know you better than you know yourself.”

Korra opened her mouth like she was going to reply, and Kuvira stepped even closer, only inches away, and said, very softly, “Am I wrong?”

Korra didn’t speak, just closed her mouth and stood there, looking up at Kuvira, like she’d been turned to stone. I thought Kuvira might be bloodbending her or something, but then, then—she tipped Korra’s face up with two fingers and _kissed her_. And Korra—she stood there for an impossibly long moment, eyes open, frozen, but then, just as I was about to burst into the tent and rescue her, or something, she closed her eyes and kissed Kuvira back.

It was like... like Kuvira was _taking_ her, and Korra let herself be taken. Kuvira could have killed her and Korra wouldn’t have lifted a finger to stop her. Kuvira kissed her for so long I thought she _would_ die, then pulled Korra’s head back by the hair and drew her lips down Korra’s throat while Korra gasped for breath... They were up against the desk, now, and Korra’s hands were all over Kuvira, like she wanted to touch every inch of her at once, but Kuvira wouldn’t let her. She lifted Korra onto her desk and and pinned Korra’s hands to the surface of it, then bent her cuffs around Korra’s wrists and deep into the wood. Then she stepped back and looked at her with her eyes all dark and amused while Korra made these whimpering sounds, back arched, eyes closed... She could have bent those cuffs off quick as blinking, but it was like she’d forgotten what bending was. Like she’d forgotten her own name... Kuvira stepped in close, nudging Korra’s knees apart with her thighs, and Korra tried to kiss her again, but Kuvira wouldn’t let her. She grabbed the back of Korra’s head, holding her still, and made Korra look her in the eyes, as if to say _It’s me you want, and you_ will _acknowledge this. You will not look away._ Korra struggled a little, but she didn’t struggle hard, and finally she went still. 

And then, Bolin, Kuvira laid her palm flat on Korra’s stomach and slid it down. I couldn’t see what she was doing, but I could see Korra’s head falling back, eyes closing... but before she could close them, Kuvira’s hand went still and stayed still til Korra opened them again. It happened again, and again, and again. Kuvira made it last an impossibly long time; if Korra even _blinked_ , she’d stop. At one point Korra said something, too softly for Kuvira to hear, and Kuvira murmured “What did you say?” and Korra said “Please” and Kuvira said, “I didn’t hear you, Avatar,” and Korra said _“Please”_ like something was breaking inside her and Kuvira kind of twisted her hand and Korra arched her back and cried out so loudly I thought the whole camp would hear.

It didn’t end there. Kuvira could have made it last forever. Her cheeks were flushed, now, and every time Korra cried out she breathed a little faster, hips stiffening like they wanted to buck but she wouldn’t let them, til she couldn’t take it anymore. The cuffs around Korra’s wrists fell open and, finally, she let Korra kiss her, soft and closed-mouthed at first, then open-mouthed and deep. Korra did to Kuvira what Kuvira’d done to her, kissing her way down Kuvira’s throat to the hem of her shirt as her hands disappeared up it, hesitant at first, then more and more sure, and _Kuvira’s_ head was the one falling back now, like for her it was only just beginning.

But then, right on the brink of giving in, Kuvira stopped and pulled away. “You know how I knew about Mako?” she said. “Because that’s Bataar Jr. Well-trained. Satisfactory. Disposable. His technological skills and his family name are useful, for the moment, and he’s so much more cooperative when he thinks I’m in _love_ with him...” Kuvira’s lip curled at the word. “One word from the right person, and he’s gone.

“Unite with me, Avatar.” Kuvira’s face was flushed, eyes bright, and she wasn’t trying to hide the elation in them. “No one could stand against us. Not Zaofu. Not Republic City. Not the United Republic. We could have them all—we could have them all. Anything you’ve ever wanted, we could do it—together. So I ask you, Avatar, and I’ll only ask once. What do you want?”

Korra’s lips were swollen from kissing; her body still trembling with the aftershocks of what they'd done. But when she raised her head, the old defiance sparked in her eyes.

“I want you to leave Zaofu and never come back,” she said. “And if you don’t, I want to fight you for it.”

If it took Kuvira everything she had to step away from Korra then, it didn’t show. She stood there in the middle of the tent, back straight, face stone cold, as Korra took a step toward her and opened her mouth as if to speak—but the look on Kuvira’s eyes stopped her. She squared her shoulders, turned, and left the tent.

I stayed long enough to see Kuvira send for my brother. Her eyes glittered, half with pleasure and half with fury, as she leaned against the desk and shoved him to his knees in front of her. She’d been right—he was well trained—but Kuvira didn’t cry out. She didn’t close her eyes. She was holding onto the edges of the desk to steady herself, and her knuckles whitened just slightly, but that was all.

*

I couldn’t sleep that night, I was so worried about Korra. If Kuvira had that effect on her, I thought, she didn’t stand a chance in the fight. I thought about telling someone, but who could I tell? What would I _say_? Would it make any difference?

If you’d have seen that that fight, you’d think Kuvira beat Korra—and she did, of course. But I was the only person who knew that, last night, Korra... kind of beat _her_. There was this moment, yesterday, when Korra slammed into Kuvira and they both went tumbling to the ground. Korra ended up on top and, before she could get up, Kuvira grabbed a fistful of her shirt and pulled her down so their faces were inches apart and I was sure they were going to kiss, right there in front of everyone, but they didn’t—and in _that_ moment, Korra kind of beat her too. More importantly, she kind of beat herself.

She’ll face Kuvira again, but I’m not worried. Everyone says “know your enemy,” but it’s just as important to know yourself. Korra’s weak now, but she’s stronger today than she was yesterday, and tomorrow she’ll be stronger still. Next time she faces Kuvira, she’ll do it as someone who’s been seen, and known—not just by Kuvira, but by herself. And she’ll be that much stronger for it.

Don’t think this letter doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you, because if you’re working for Kuvira, I definitely am, especially now that she, um, _has my entire family hostage_. I do hope you’re okay, though—even if it’s just so you can tell them I love them for me. 

Definitely not yours,

Opal

**Author's Note:**

> You could kind of read this whole thing as implying Korra’s gay and not bi, which (as a bi person) I did not want to imply! To be honest, the whole “you were never attracted to Mako” thing is mostly because I think Mako is the boringest character ever and wanted to retcon Korra’s attraction to him out of existence. But you’ll notice that only ever comes from Kuvira, not Korra herself... I think Kuvira just got it wrong. She picks up on Korra’s attraction to girls and thinks it means Korra’s _only_ attracted to girls.
> 
> My mind is already running to a sequel where Korra, years later, visits Kuvira in prison and fucks the shit out her like she didn’t get to do in this...


End file.
